Hosiery with Sheer Outer Layer and Skin Color Base Layer

ABSTRACT

Hosiery with a sheer outer layer and a base layer of skin tone color. The said article creates the illusion of wearing sheer hosiery while providing reinforced thermal comfort provided by the base layer of skin color when worn. The base layer also helps relieve slippery discomfort primarily around the sole area that results from poor ventilation commonly seen in conventional sheer hosiery. The processes may include attaching conventional sheer or translucent hosiery onto a skin-toned base layer of the same shape. The base layer shall be made of stretchable fabric that matches the skin color of the wearer to mimic bare leg or foot. For additional warmth and thermal protection, the base layer may be comprised of thermal lining fabric such as cotton, wool and other fleece-like materials.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Close-fitting hosiery such as pantyhose, stockings and leggings has long been a popular fashion garment. They are designed to be attractive in appearance while providing some level of warmth. The sheerness of the garment, expressed as a numerical denier, ranges from 15 (stand sheer) up to 30 (semi opaque) till 100 (opaque).

As the shear or semi opaque types (usually with 40 denier or less) expose more skin than opaque ones, they are generally considered more attractive in design and aesthetics. However garment with 40 denier or less do not provide enough thermal protection under cold weather condition. Conventional thermal hosiery is usually made of wool, fleece, high denier nylon or spandex, and therefore is completely opaque in appearance. Opaque legwear or footwear in skin-tone color is usually dull in appearance and does not give the same level of attractiveness as sheer or semi-opaque types. The first motivation of this invention is to design a type of close-fitting hosiery that is both sheer in appearance and warm enough for cold weather condition.

Additionally, conventional sheer hosiery such as stockings and pantyhose is typically made of synthetic fabric such as nylon and spandex, which is known for having low moisture absorbency or ventilation. For example, pantyhose have long been the subject of criticism on the health risk it poses to the wearers due to its fully enclosed design, tightness and non-absorbency. Aside from the potential health risk, when a person wears high-heeled shoes and sheer hosiery, the person's sole begins to perspire and the perspiration fails to ventilate and gets trapped between the person's skin and the hosiery due to the non-absorbency of the fabric of the hosiery. The trapped perspiration causes great discomfort and might lead to various dermatological problems. The moisture also renders the sole of the hosiery very slippery. When the person wears high-heeled shoes and sheer hosiery, the person's foot will slide forward and downward in the hosiery and the toes eventually become curled against the reinforced toe portion of the hosiery. This results in unnatural and persistent pressure on the ball and toes of the wearer's feet. Prior art (U.S. Pat. No. 7,654,117 B2 by Barnett) is specifically designed to solve this problem by adding separate padding made of comfort fabric to the sole and toe portion of the hosiery. The base layer of skin tone color proposed in this invention provides a solution to help relieve the discomfort raised by the slippery and poor absorbency problem described above, since the proposed fabric (cotton, wool, fleece and the like) is typically considered less hydrophobic and features a rougher surface which is less prone to slippery.

Hosiery (primarily legwear) made of various types of thermal fabric have been extensively described in prior inventions, such leggings made of wool or flannel materials (U.S. Pat. No. 4,599,812 by Harmsen), leggings made of synthetic fleece (U.S. Pat. No. 6,301,803 B1 by Patterson). Once rendered in the proper shade of skin-tone color, garment made of such fabric can serve as the base layer as proposed in this invention.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention introduces a new type of hosiery with a sheer outer layer and an base layer of skin tone color. The said article creates the illusion of wearing a sheer hosiery while providing reinforced thermal comfort provided by the base layer of skin color when worn. The base layer also helps relieve discomfort that results from poor ventilation commonly seen in conventional sheer hosiery. The processes may include attaching a conventional sheer or translucent hosiery onto a skin-toned base layer of the same shape. The base layer shall be made of stretchable fabric that matches the skin color of the wearer to mimic bare leg or foot. For additional comfort, or warmth and thermal protection, the base layer may be comprised of thermal lining fabric such as cotton, wool and other fleece-like materials. The two layers generally join at the upper opening and lower opening (if present) of the hosiery. For additional reinforcement, the two layers may also join additionally along the toe portion (if present).

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIGS. 1A, 1B and 1C illustrate the invented hosiery in the form of a stocking which comprises of a sheer outer layer and a skin-tone base layer.

FIGS. 2A, 2B, 2C and 2D illustrate the invented hosiery in the form of a legging which comprises of a sheer outer layer and a skin-tone base layer.

FIGS. 3A, 3B and 3C illustrate the invented hosiery in the form of pantyhose which comprises of a sheer outer layer and a skin-tone base layer.

FIGS. 4A, 4B and 4C illustrate the invented hosiery in the form of a sock which comprises of a sheer outer layer and a skin-tone base layer.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The following description is one of the preferred embodiments of the invention. It should be straightforward to those of reasonable skill in the art to make changes, variations or adaptations of the invention as the description proceeds.

The said double-layer hosiery can be applied to a variety of footwear that ranges from stockings, legging, pantyhose and socks, represented in FIG. 1-4 respectively. All of the embodiments 100, 200, 300 and 400 feature a sheer outer layer and a base layer of skin-tone color. The said sheer outer layer (120, 220, 320 and 420) is made of sheer and elastic fabric such as nylon, spandex or the like. The outer layer may remain plain, or features different patterns or colors as conventional single layer hosiery. Such patterns may range widely from cross, diamond, fishnet hose and so on. The said base layer (110, 210, 310 and 410) is made of fabric in skin-tone color. Depending on the desired level of thermal protection and/or moisture absorbency, a variety of suggested fabric can range from wool, cotton to fleece and/or the blend. Both layers are elastic, close-fitting and formed in the same shape. Although each of the embodiments features the same double-layered structure, the specific type of the underlying garment requires its own distinctive method of joining the two layers. Feasible but not suggested, the two layers may also remain completely detached from each other.

FIG. 1A, 1B and 1C demonstrate an example of the said article 100 in the form of stocking which comprises of a sheer outer layer 120 and a base layer of skin-tone color 110. In particular, FIG. 1A shows the stocking 100 in its default shape. FIG. 1B shows the stocking 100 in its inside-out form and FIG. 1C shows the enlarged sectional view of the upper thigh portion folded out of the stocking 100. The cut-out around the upper opening is solely for the purpose of illustrating the double-layered structure of the said article and is not part of the proposed design. For better stability, the outer layer 120 may join the base layer 110 around the upper opening of the stocking 100. One method to achieve this is through extending the outer layer at the upper thigh opening by around 1 inch as indicated by 130. This extended portion is then folded down and stitched onto the base layer 110, forming the seam 140. For additional reinforcement to avoid sliding and displacement of the two layers, an optional seam 150 might also be stitched along the toe portion of the said stocking 100.

FIG. 2A, 2B, 2C and 2D demonstrate an example of the said article 200 in the form of legging which comprises of a sheer outer layer 220 and a base layer of skin-tone color 210. In particular, FIG. 2A shows the legging 200 in its default shape. FIG. 2B shows the legging 200 in its inside-out form. FIG. 2C shows the enlarged sectional view of the upper waist portion folded out of the legging 200. FIG. 2D shows the enlarged sectional view of the lower ankle portion folded out of the legging 200. For better stability, the outer layer 220 may join the base layer 210 around the upper opening of the legging 200. One method to achieve this is through extending the outer layer at the upper waist opening by around 1 inch as indicated by 230. This extended portion is then folded down and stitched onto the base layer 210, forming the seam 240. Similarly, the lower ankle portion of the legging 200 may also be extended by around 1 inch, as indicated by 260. This extended portion is then folded up and stitched onto the base layer 210, forming another seam 250.

FIG. 3A, 3B and 3C demonstrate an example of the said article 300 in the form of pantyhose which comprises of a sheer outer layer 320 and a base layer of skin-tone color 310. In particular, FIG. 3A shows the pantyhose 300 in its default shape. FIG. 2B shows the pantyhose 300 in its inside-out form and FIG. 3C shows the enlarged sectional view of the upper waist portion folded out of the pantyhose 300. For better stability, the outer layer 320 may join the base layer 310 around the upper waist opening of the pantyhose 300. One method to achieve this is through extending the outer layer at the upper waist opening by around 1 inch as indicated by 330. This extended portion is then folded down and stitched onto the base layer 310, forming the seam 340. For additional reinforcement to avoid sliding and displacement of the two layers, an optional seam 350 might also be stitched along the toe portion of the said pantyhose 300.

FIG. 4A, 4B and 4C demonstrate an example of the said article 400 in the form of sock which comprises of a sheer outer layer 420 and a base layer of skin-tone color 410. In particular, FIG. 4A shows the sock 400 in its default shape. FIG. 2B shows the sock 400 in its inside-out form and FIG. 4C shows the enlarged sectional view of the upper calf portion folded out of the sock 400. For better stability, the outer layer 420 may join the base layer 410 around the upper calf opening of the sock 400. One method to achieve this is through extending the outer layer at the upper opening by around 1 inch as indicated by 430. This extended portion is then folded down and stitched onto the base layer 410, forming the seam 440. For additional reinforcement to avoid sliding and displacement of the two layers, an optional seam 450 might also be stitched along the toe portion of the said sock 400. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A hosiery article, comprising an outer layer that is made of sheer fabric and a base layer that is made of fabric with skin tone color.
 2. The hosiery of claim 1, wherein said outer layer and base layer shall both be close-fitting and made of stretchable fabric.
 3. The hosiery of claim 1, wherein said outer layer is made of sheer and elastic material.
 4. The hosiery of claim 1, wherein said outer layer may present various styles such as lace, fishnet hose, patterns and colors, in addition to plain.
 5. The hosiery of claim 1, wherein said base layer of skin color mimics the look of bare leg and/or foot.
 6. The hosiery of claim 1, wherein said base layer may be made of opaque fabric such as nylon or a mixture of spandex with 40 denier opaque upwards.
 7. The hosiery of claim 1, wherein said base layer may also be made of thermal lining fabric such as cotton, wool, fleece or other fleece like materials to provide better moisture absorbency, additional thermal protection and comfort to the wearer.
 8. The hosiery of claim 1, wherein said outer layer may be attached to said base layer by stitching with thread for additional reinforced stability.
 9. The hosiery of claim 8, wherein said outer layer and base layer join along the waist opening and/or crotch for pantyhose or alike garment.
 10. The hosiery of claim 8, wherein said outer layer and base layer join along the upper opening for stocking, sock or alike garment.
 11. The hosiery of claims 9 and 10, wherein said outer layer and base layer may join additionally at toe portion for additional reinforcement.
 12. The hosiery of claim 8, wherein said outer layer and base layer join additionally along the lower ankle opening for legging or alike garment. 